The Quality of Justice
by Spundreams
Summary: The story takes place in a purposely generic place and time, and possibly even not on Earth. In the Doctor's timeline Martha Jones is no longer his Companion, and he has not had his reunion with Donna Noble. / A mysterious stranger informs the village healer that judgement is nigh - and the carriage the Judge will arrive in is a blue box...


Acacia paced in her small house, her footsteps silent on the floor. Outside was preternaturally silent as well, the usual sounds of the industrious older children, teens, and adults absent and those of the younger children completely missing. It was, then, even more pronounced, the sound she was expecting to hear - the strange whooshes and screeches which The Merciful One had somehow put directly into her head, making it familiar even though she had never heard it before.

With a deep breath, Acacia opened her door and stepped out into the sunlight, wondering at the ordinariness of this day of judgement. She had not dwelled on such a day overmuch, or indeed thought of such at all, until being summoned by The Merciful One. Given the grimness of the portent, she had expected it to be gloomy and heavy. She had also expected his carriage to be much more… something. The Merciful One had shown her, in her head, the large blue box, but somehow Acacia had expected more embellishment. She trembled as the door began to open, awaiting the first glimpse of The Just One.

Even not knowing what to expect; The Merciful One had warned her that The Just One wore many faces, Acacia was surprised at what she saw. The Just One looked young, perhaps her age, maybe even younger. His hair was brown and tousled, his brown eyes wide in a way which might be interpreted as innocent. He wore sideburns and strange, outlandish clothes - trousers and a jacket of blue with brown stripes, a blue shirt under the jacket, and a long coat over the lot. The oddest part was his footwear; they were neither boots nor shoes, and the red material was most definitely not local.

The Just One looked around, seeming confused, and pulled out a strange metallic stick which glowed blue on the end. He waved it around and it made a strange, high-pitched sound. Acacia didn't wait to see what would happen if he pointed it at her. As she stepped from her doorway he looked in her direction as if he had not seen her until just that moment. She approached him and curtsied politely, then intoned, "Welcome, Lord of Time."

Now his confusion was palpable. "Well, hello, then. I'm afraid you have the advantage of me," he replied.

"My Lord?" she inquired.

"You seem to know who I am, but I don't know your name."

"Oh! I apologize, My Lord. I am Acacia, the village healer. Your coming was foretold to us. Would you honor me with a visit? I'm afraid I don't have much by way of fancy entertainment, but I made soup against your arrival and I have tea."

The Just One did something she had never expected - he smiled. Then he said, "Tea sounds lovely. Lead the way."

It was Acacia's turn to be confused as she did so. She may not have had any idea how he would look or dress, but from what she had been told she was expecting someone grim, with barely-contained rage seething just below the surface. The Merciful One had told her, to be sure, that he would not raise his voice, but Acacia was familiar with the taut quality which could be conveyed even without shouting - after all, she employed it herself with villagers who were in pain or afraid. There was none of that in The Just One's voice. Or in his manner, for that matter.

Acacia led him into the house, half-expecting him to need to duck in the doorway, but no, he was only slightly taller than she was. To cover her unease she began bustling about, apologizing as she had forgotten to put the kettle on before she went out to greet him. She snipped enough herbs from her windowsill box for her tea and to supplement those which The Merciful One had supplied for The Just One. She was shaking as she brought the tray over to the table - she was a healer, and the idea of poisoning someone, even him, went against the grain.

After removing the biscuits, baked fresh that morning, from the tray, she inquired politely, "Would you like a biscuit, My Lord?"

"Two, please. And there is no need to call me Lord. Doctor will suffice."

"Doc… tor." She repeated, the syllables uncertain. The word was as strange to her as the foreign shoes he wore.

Her musing was cut short as he asked, "What's that smell?"

Acacia sniffed, but did not smell anything awry. "Just the tea and biscuits, My L… Doctor."

The Doctor held up his cup. "This is not just tea."

Acacia went over and took a more careful sniff. There was something, barely something, which smelled odd in a way she could not articulate.

"Some of the herbs must have been off, Doctor" She said, reaching for the cup. "I'll get you a new cup."

She was, to be honest, relieved that there would be no poison after all. The Doctor did not relinquish his cup, though, instead continuing to peer at it. He pulled out his stick again and pointed it toward the cup, then studied it when the sound changed..

Lowering the cup, the Doctor asked, his voice dangerously quiet, "Why did you try to drug me?"

Acacia bowed her head. "I am so sorry, Doctor. I thought it was the only way."

"The only way to what?"

"The only way to buy the lives of the villagers, Doctor. I was told of the crime you came here to judge, and how you will punish it."

"I see." His voice was still quiet as he stood and began approaching Acacia. "And who told you?"

"The Merciful One, Doctor."

"I have little patience for games, Acacia. Tell me who."

"But that's all she told me, Doctor. She's your counterpart - you are The Just One, and she is The Merciful One."

"So she did not give you a name?"

Acacia shook her head. "No, Doctor. I don't think she meant for you to hear of her part in this." She backed away a few steps, then a few more as he continued approaching. The house was small, and all too soon she felt the wall to her back.

"What did she look like?" he stopped short of pinning her to the wall, though he left no room for her to slip away.

"Short brown hair and brown eyes. She was about middling tall and plump, Doctor."

"Can you be more specific? This is important, Acacia. I need to know who she is."

"She wore strange clothes, Doctor. Not like yours, but not of this village, or any nearby."

The Doctor studied Acacia for a few seconds, then said, "I don't believe you're holding back, at least not on purpose, but your description could match half the women in this village alone, were it not for the clothing. I need to see what she looks like. There is a way to lift it from your mind. May I?"

Acacia nodded, then shrank away as he raised his hands toward her face. He paused, then asked, "What's wrong?"

"The Merciful One didn't need to touch me to put the thoughts in my head, Doctor."

This somehow seemed important to him, and he noted, "I do." He reached again for her face, then paused to ask, " Did she ask for permission to intrude on your thoughts?"

Acacia closed her eyes briefly in concentration, then answered, "No, Doctor. She never spoke at all."

The Doctor nodded and placed his fingers on her temples, then he leaned until his forehead touched hers. When their eyes met she tensed, and he noted, "This won't harm you, or even hurt, if I can help it."

True to his word, Acacia felt his mind touch hers, but while it felt odd, there was no pain. Her thoughts of that morning; of telling the villagers not to go out and especially to keep the children inside, replayed. They played in reverse order, up until when she had just left The Merciful One's presence, and then stopped abruptly.

"Oh, that's clever." He said aloud. "She has set up blocks to warn her if I try to find out more. I'm afraid this may hurt after all. I'm going to have to go deep into your mind to keep from alerting her."

Acacia nodded, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Only a few whimpers betrayed the pain as he probed more deeply. When he looked at her again, though, she was staring at him, wide-eyed in horror. "Acacia, what's wrong?" he asked.

Acacia not so much answered as was talking to herself. "So angry… so very, very angry. There are no words."

The Doctor removed his hands from her face, breaking the telepathic link. He remembered the words of a young Madame de Pompadour, "A door once opened may be stepped through in either direction." He had gone deeply into Acacia's mind, and had spent longer than usual in the link - and it was no wonder that she had picked up on the most prevalent emotion he felt at that moment.

"Acacia, your Merciful One is anything but. She lied to you to so she could trick you into drugging me. I have to go now; I have a date with a murderer. I'll deal with you later." Then he mused, "But I can't have you running off while I'm gone." He added hypnotically, "Until I get back, sleep."

He shook her roughly, then commanded, "Wake up." She was crumpled to the floor, where he had left her, her legs under her completely numb. As she tried to stand she stumbled, falling into the wall. He loomed above her and watched, but made no move to steady her. "It's almost time to deal with you, as I promised. But first, your village. Follow me."

Acacia followed, filled with dread. The weather had changed, more like what she had expected that morning - ominous clouds, the air still. After ordering her to stay on her doorstep, The Just One pointed his odd stick at the ground. The ground parted, and creatures began swarming up. They were from beyond her nightmares, tall and red with hideous faces twisted in hate. Ridges on their foreheads held all-black eyes, and in place of hands they had talons. Instead of two legs they had a bulbous protrusion and eight legs, red with black joints. There were more of them than there were houses in the village, and with cruel laughs they began opening doors and dragging out the occupants, from the oldest grandfather to the newborn Acacia had delivered the day before. Some of the villagers had time to lock their doors, but the monsters tore those doors off their hinges.

One of the monsters approached Acacia's house, its expression filled with greedy malice. "Not that one. I have other plans for her." The Just One's smile this time held none of the warmth from the morning; in fact, the smile set her to mind of the creatures which were still dragging the screaming villagers toward the crack. The screams echoed in Acacia's ears long after the last villager disappeared, but still the ground did not close up.

The creatures, after several excruciating minutes, re-emerged, carrying buckets. They spread out, pouring the contents on each house, except for hers. Others poured the steaming pails in the fields. Wherever the red stuff touched, flame flared up. Soon the whole village was burning, as were the fields around it. The only things left when the flames had died down were her house and his blue box.

But he wasn't done yet. "Salt the fields," he commanded the monsters. To her he added, "It will be a long time before any life can manage here. And when your Lord comes to investigate, he will see your house and know that you brought this upon the village."

After the fields had been salted, the nightmare-creatures disappeared into the fissure, their cruel laughter still audible even after the ground closed up. The Just One grabbed Acacia's arm and began walking toward the blue box.

"Welcome to your new home." His tone was as mocking as his bow. He opened the door and pulled her in. It was very dark, but he began walking, still keeping hold of her arm. They passed through a room with a mirror, in which Acacia could see The Merciful One's trapped little girl, still clutching the string to her floating ball. In another room was a man bound in impossibly large chains who could only be The Merciful One's husband. Yet another held a crystal ball with three screaming women, two old and one young, inside - or at least she assumed they were screaming; she could hear nothing. Each new room introduced a new horror, people who looked just like her and beings she never could have imagined, all imprisoned, some being tortured.

"Don't worry," commented The Just One. "None of those are your fate - I make the punishment fit the crime. Ah, here we are now ."

They walked into a room which was lit by something stranger than candles. A tea service had been set up, and Acacia watched as the Just One poured two cups, then added something to one of them, which he handed to her. Acacia braced herself and began drinking the bitter brew. Even before she had finished the pain started. Searing cramps made her double over, nearly spilling what was left. She looked up at The Just One, who indicated that she was to finish the tea. She felt her face burning as with fever, and the pain spread to every part of her body, until she fell to the floor, writhing in agony.

"Perhaps more potent than the poison you intended for me." he noted. "But since you had no idea what the poison would do, it is just." He finished his tea and stood. "I'll let you get on with your suffering. Perhaps, if I am feeling generous, I may let the poison kill you... but not too soon."

And then his voice changed, more like that of the Doctor. "Acacia, wake up." She felt his hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently, as the nightmarish pain faded.

The healer started awake to find herself seated, leaning against the wall. The Doctor reached down, offering his hand, and Acacia took it. Her legs had fallen asleep, but he steadied her as he pulled her up. "It is finished. The woman you knew as The Merciful One is once again Prisoner of Mine. I made the mistake of throwing her out of the TARDIS - a mistake I will not repeat. From now on, all of my prisoners will be kept inside."

Acacia nodded numbly, still reeling. She wasn't even sure she was awake, especially when she heard him say, "Now, about that tea. The last cup was tepid; I would like a new one."

Acacia looked at his teacup and it was, indeed, empty. "But Doctor. The poison…"

"Was perfectly harmless since I took the antidote first," he finished.

She shook her head as if to clear it, then took his empty cup and her full one, now stone cold, into the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later with two new cups, two bundles of freshly-cut herbs, and a kettle of boiling water.

"Much better," he said as he savored the drink. "Would you like to know what the drug would have done?"

Acacia asked, "What is "drug", Doctor? I don't recognize the word."

The Doctor replied, "Somewhat like poisoning, but not meant to kill the victim. In this case, she wanted me to be amenable to suggestion. Her plan the whole time was to have you drug the tea, then come to your house and bring me along to free her family." He paused to finish his tea, then continued, "But now, we need to talk about you."

Acacia thought of kneeling, but then decided to remain seated. "Yes, Doctor. May I say something before you hand down your sentence?"

"Very well."

Acacia began, "I understand that what I did, or tried to do, was unforgivable, and I know you don't give second chances. I will bear whatever punishment you deem fit. But the rest of the villagers… They had nothing to do with this, Doctor. Not even the mayor; he sent me to the Merciful One in his stead, and only I heard what she had to say. The decision to go along with her plan was all mine" Her voice became more desperate as she pleaded, "Please don't take this out on them."

He nodded thoughtfully, then began to speak. "Acacia, I am not here to punish your village. I came here in response to a distress signal faked by Prisoner of Mine. I won't punish you for what happened, either; Prisoner of Mine put you in an impossible situation. So, this is not a sentence but a request: Find an apprentice and begin training her."

Acacia suddenly realized her fists were clenched, even though she didn't remember doing so. She exhaled the breath she didn't know she had been holding, and stared at him in disbelief. "I don't understand, Doctor."

"I may need you someday, and when I do I will come for you. I promised not to punish your village, and taking their healer away with no replacement would be a severe punishment."

"So," she began slowly, "I would accompany you as penance, Doctor?"

"If you wish to think of it that way you may, though I would rather you travel with me due to my charm and good looks."

Acacia smiled tentatively, the first time she had done so since before the fateful meeting with the Merciful One. The Doctor rewarded her with a smile of his own, warm and nothing like the menacing grimace from the nightmare. He stood up and walked around the table, then held out his hands. After helping Acacia up, he impulsively embraced her, saying, "Be prepared to leave at a second's notice. Until we meet again."

The Doctor let himself out as Acacia tried to make sense of what had just happened. Then, she heard the whooshing and screeching sounds which had heralded his arrival and realized that he was gone. She went outside and rang the bell to summon the villagers to meet. After telling them it was safe to come out of their houses, she pulled aside a teenager who had shown interest in healing and proposed an apprenticeship.

Then she awaited the Doctor's return.


End file.
